Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Christopher Sullivan raised the issue of the decision of the Mental Health Commission to put a restriction on the registration of the mental health care and recovery approval centre at Bantry General Hospital, reducing the centre's total number of registered beds from 18 to 11. As the Deputy knows, the HSE has appealed that now and it is in the district court. I will come back to that in a second.

People in Bantry were quite happy that morning in August when I visited. I got a good welcome there. I do not think I left with people having no hope, as the Deputy suggested. People were quite confident about the endoscopy unit and further investment, which we have allocated through the HSE.

The Deputy has a great habit of moving on the issue. It is no longer about that the investment is going to happen; I must now come down with the actual precise date on which the builders will be off the site and so on. Be that as it may, I have a good record with Bantry General Hospital. As Minister for Health, I put very far-reaching investment into that hospital, which has stood the test of time in terms of the service it provides for that wider region. We have always maintained it is a key hospital for a vast hinterland right down to the Beara Peninsula given its geographic location and acknowledged the necessity of various interventions. It works very well with Cork University Hospital, CUH, and within the south-west hospital grouping, which is important in terms of the right treatment at the right time.

In respect of the decision by the Mental Health Commission, the Deputy knows that is an independent body. From time to time in the House, we ignore the reality of decision-making by a body such as the Mental Health Commission. On other occasions, we will ask those regulators or those bodies to go in and give a very objective assessment of facilities. Sometimes, we do not like it because it leads to decisions that are awkward or challenging. It does at times drive standards and quality, however, and therein lies the tension. It does create huge issues for the HSE and the service. That is why the HSE is appealing the decision; it is not in the position. The HSE maintains that it cannot afford to reduce the number of beds and it will challenge the interpretation of the regulation of 2022. It believes it could have broader implications for other approved centres in the community healthcare organisation, CHO, areas and, indeed, nationally. That is where it lies right now. These issues must be resolved. The bodies that make decisions cannot just be ignored and the advice they give cannot be ignored either.

Investment continues in mental health, however. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, secured significant additional resources in yesterday's budget to continue to invest in mental health facilities. Deputy Collins asked if I visited the centre. It is an acute and enduring mental health centre; it would not have been appropriate for me to do so given the privacy needs of the patients.

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